Like a shot of the good juice on a clear morning, the BMW M8 was spotted at the Nurburgring doing some good ‘ol fashion testing. The long-bodied beauty was dressed in heavy camouflage, but the coupe’s unmistakable look can still be gleaned underneath all that wrapping.

Video of the car’s test run at the ‘Ring also shows it belting out an impressive soundtrack, a by-product of the 4.4-liter bi-turbo V-8 engine that’s sitting underneath its hood. We still don’t know how much power the M8 will have at its disposal, but the benchmark appears to be the 523-horsepower and 553-pound-foot figures that the M850i xDrive has on tap. Using that as a baseline, it’s unlikely that we’re going to see the M8 with anything less than 600 horsepower. There are even rumors that the new flagship performance coupe will have as much as 650 ponies, all of which will be channeled through an eight-speed automatic transmission that will send power to the two rear wheels or all four wheels depending on the driver’s preference.

As far as looks go, the M8 should be far and away more dynamic and aggressive than the M850i. Expect loads of aero bits to find their way into the body of the long-limbed coupe to justify its range-topping status. Likewise, the interior should get some exclusive features, too. The layout is unlikely to change, but some “extra” premium elements should be expected.

The BMW M8 is expected to arrive sometime in early 2019. If you’re interested in one, you’re going to need to start saving now because the coupe isn’t going to come cheap. The M850i, on its own, already costs $111,900, so expect the M8 to carry a far heftier price tag than that. A cost of around $130,000 is probably within the vicinity of its official price tag. And we’re not even talking about the M8 Convertible or the M8 Gran Coupe. Those bad boys are going to be more expensive.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW 8 Series.

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 BMW M8 Coupe.

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 BMW M8 Convertible.

Read our full review on the 2018 BMW M8 Gran Coupe Concept.

Read our full review on the BMW 8 Series Concept Coupe.

Read more BMW news.